Either
by SonicH2O
Summary: Kate...if it had been me....I wouldn't have left either Jate oneshot . Please read and review!


Alright. This is a one shot .** Bascially disreguard most of season 2.** ( i really haven't watched it)This is kinda like a story that might happen in a future episode. it is their portion of the episode. ( does that make sense?)

AN: some things from season 2 are mentioned though...and i apologize for the spelling i wrote this really quickly. if you don't like it just read skim down to the end. that parts good...

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Kate was sitting on the beach listening to the not so gentle sound of waves crashing on the beach when she felt eyes on her. She smiled softly to her self. She knew who it was. She always knew when _he _was looking at her.

" Hey Jack" She said turning to watch him as he approached her.

" Hey yourself" he smiled softly as he took a seat next to her. A comfortable silence followed before Jack spoke again " I was hoping you wouldn't mind taking a walk..." He said uncertainly turning to look at her.

" Sure" Kate said trying not to sound to happy at the idea of spending some time with him.

**later in the jungle**

" What do you think of the church?" Jack asked breaking the silence that had fallen over them.

" SInce Eko and Charlie finished it, everyone seems to have hope again , and i think it's great that Rose and Bernard are going to renew their vows there" Kate answered.

" Yeah. I think they want to do something to make everyone happy. Whats better then a wedding right? " Jack responded, smiling at her sweetly.

Kate smiled back and gestured to her right, "We should probably head back...it's getting dark."

" No...when I asked you on this little trek I had a destination in mind Kate." Jack said slyly.

Kate chuckled softly. " And where exactly are you taking me Jack ?" She asked him.

A huge grin broke out across his face and he took a step closer to her until their faces were inches apart. He whispered in her ear " it's a surprise." Kate felt electricity buzz through her, both at Jack's closeness to her and at his words. She had heard those words before and well...it had been a _very_ nice night that had followed...

Jack took her hand, still grinning, " come on " he said almost dragging her after him. Kate had never seen him so happy, and she smiled as she was almost whipped through the sharp turns and zig zag as he dragged her along.

They burst through a clearing to a waterfall similar to the one Kate had swam in with Sawyer, where they had found the case. The only difference was that the water here was crystal clear and shimmering in the sunlight. Kate was amazed by the natural beauty of this place.

"how...How did you _FIND_ this place Jack." She asked in aw.

" WellI was out last night, just taking a walk, and I stumbled in here." he shrugged. " You like it?" he asked as though seaking her approval.

" It's beautiful." She said turning to him.

His smile was genuine and in Kate's opinion more beautiful then the waterfall. Of course she reminded her self she was bias.

" Good. Theres more" HE said once again dragging her after him.

He lead her around the side of the lake and brought her to the side of the cliff. the water was so loud she could barely hear it when he said " **CLIMB THE LATTER**" gesturing to a wooden latter that she hadn't noticed before. It wasn't far up and as she pulled herself up she saw that she was on a balcony like rock cliff that was behind the water fall. Jack Was suddenly at her side. "Come on" he whispered in her ear. He pulled her back farther under the water fall, to a wall covered with vines and tree limbs. But as Jack pushed it back she saw that it wasn't a wall butan entrance way to a cave under the falls. Once again, like a little giddy kid Jack pulled her after him.

As she stepped in once again all Kate could say was " Wow...". There was a little fountin of water trickling into a crysatl clear pond, and from there you could hear the rush of the waterfall and light trickled in to. It looked like a dimly lit resturant , the kind where a man might take his girlfriend to propose or something... Kates heart sped up as she saw there was also a small make shift table with food and candles...and rose petals leading to a make shift bed big enough to fit 2 people comfotabley.

" Oh good. You like it" Jack said casually. " Do yo think Rose and Bernard will?"

Kates romantic fantasy came crashing down. " What?" She asked her voice hoarse as she tried to hide her disappointment.

" I brought all this stuff up here yesturday to that Rose and Bernard would have a place to go after the ceremony and party. Figured it might be nice to give them alone time. Woulda put them in the hatch but i didn't want to bother them with the button pushing." Jack explained. " I wanted a experts opinion on how this looked. " He told her seeing her quesitoning look.

" Oh..." Kate whispered...then seeing Jack frown she joked . " Most guys have no clue as to what's romantic. How did you come up with this? You a hopeless romantic?"

Jack laughed heartedly at that. " I'm more hopeless_ AT_ romance , then a hopeless romantic. No I just remember my mom trying to do something like this whenI was younger. She set it all up for my dad on their anniversary . She literally _LOCKED_ me in my room so that they could have a nice uninterrupted dinner. " He gave off a quick and almost angry laugh." He called later and said he was spending the night catching the game with his budsat the bar. My mom was so steamed she drank all the liquor in the house and forgot to un lock the door to my room till my friend Marc came over the next day round 4 to see whyi had blown him off for the movie we were gonna go see."

Kate frowned. Jack rarely spoke of his parents. But she had always figured he had had a normal upbringing. Parents going to the club. Him spoiled rotten ,private school. That sort of thing. She would never have pegged him for having drunk parents. She knew from experience though; if they could do that to their kid once ,they could do it again.

" I'm sorry" She said softly.

Jack smiled at her sadly. " Don't be. Besides, I know there were people who had it worse then I did. My folks only got that drunk every once in a while" Jacks eyes laced over with pain for a second as he remembered his father operating on a patient drunk " I remember my med school roommate at John Hopkins. He tole me about how his friend back in Iowa, this girl who's mom had remarried a drunk, who beat um around pretty good when he was drunk...apparently she ended up running from him." Kate's face reddened at the story. It hit a little too close to home.

Jack seemed lost in memories for a second before chuckling. "I wonder whatever happened to Tom...

Kate Froze. She turned slowly to look at Jack. " Tom...Lynch?" she asked quietly.

Jack's eyes grew large, and he nodded slowly. " What happened to him Kate?" he asked seeing her eyes water.

" The airplanes his." she whispered. Jack's eyes grew big and he swallowed hard. She had said that she had killed the man who owned that airplane. But Tom had told him that he and that girl had planned to get married...why would she kill him. He swallowed hard, wondering if she would tell him.

" How did he die Kate?" he whispered pleadingly.

Kate looked at him, tears spilling silently down her cheeks. He deserves to know how his roommate was murdered, she thought to herself. " ...I was already on the run. I found out from one of Tom's letters that my mom was dying from cancer. I went back to see her. She was in the hospital that Tom worked at. He got me in so that I could see her, ..which was hard considering the police were guarding her , hoping that I would come back for her. She didn't...she yelled for help when she saw me.." Kate felt more tears come on and her voice cracked as she remembered the fear and disgust in her mothers eyes that day. " I ran. Tom followed. By that time ...all of the commotion had gotten the security team involved and they had called the police on me...I took Toms car and was about to leave...when...when ( more tears were falling now and it was getting harder for her to keep speaking)...he jumped into the car. I told him to get out...but...but he wouldn't . There was a police car blocking our way. The officer...as we were leaving he fired at us...we got barely a block away when we hit another car...I looked over at Tom...and..." Kate sank to the ground... " and he was dead..." she whispered between sobs. " They shot him...and it was MY fault." she said looking at Jack for the first time.

His eyes were red and a tear ran down his cheek. For a second it looked like he was going to turn and leave , just like when they had opened the box together. But instead he was at her side and cradling her in one quick motion. She sobbed into his chest and he hugged her to him tightly. She wasn't sure how long they sat like that, but eventually once her tears died down, he slowly released her and she reluctantly got of his lap.

" Kate..." he said slowly tightening his grip on her arms, and forcing her to look him in the eye. " What happened to Tom...it wasn't your fault." She started to argue but he just ignored her protest; his brown orbs staring into her green ones" He stayed in that car with you because he _loved you_. And don't think for a _second_ that he would have left even if he had known the outcome. I knew Tom. He wouldn't have left, and it **wasn't** your fault." The sincerity in his voice made tears spill down her cheeks again and she buried her face into his chest again. He kept whispering that it wasn't her fault into her ear and every time he did she sobbed harder and her grip on him tightened. Eventually she pulled back still whimpering and crying. Jack looked at her intently for a moment before getting up. He smiled softly before saying " I think I'm gonna head back. You gonna stay here a while?"

" Yeah " she whispered thankful that he understood how much she wanted space just then. Jack continued to surprise her. His reaction was never what she expected. She would have thought that the knowledge that she had gotten his college roommate _killed _would have turned him, the one person on the island that might even consider trusting her, against her forever. But it hadn't instead it had made them..._closer_?

Jack turned around as he reached the exit to the cave. He hesitated as if fighting with himself before saying " Hey Kate...?"

She turned slowly. " Yeah?"

" If it had been me, I wouldn't have left either."


End file.
